Batman Forever (Novelization)
Batman Forever is a novelization based on the movie of the same name written by Peter David. It follows the general plot of the film, but includes extra chapters not shown in the film - including deleted scenes from the film and completely original chapters exclusive to the book itself. There was also another novelization made for younger readers by Alan Grant. Appearances *Batman/Bruce Wayne *Robin/Dick Grayson *Dr. Chase Meridian *The Riddler/Edward Nygma *Two-Face/Harvey Dent *Sugar *Spice *Alfred Pennyworth *Commissioner James Gordon *Fred Stickley *John Grayson *Mary Grayson *Two-Face's Thugs Differences from the film *Chase Meridian is introduced differently as she is on a Gotham street when she's mugged and her purse is grabbed by a thug. She is aided by Dick Grayson and Chase meets him and his father, who scolds him for his recklessness in risking his life though Dick thinks it's no different than risking life on the trapeze. *References are made to the 1989 film and Batman Returns, as The Joker and The Penguin are mentioned along with Catwoman. *It's revealed that Edward Nygma's obsession with Bruce Wayne comes from a moment in his childhood, where the young Nygma sees the newspaper article of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder and immediately identifies with the young Bruce when looking at his picture in the paper. The article can be seen in Nygma's shrine/cubicle in Wayne Enterprises. *The Batsuit with the sonar modifications is hinted towards at points of the story before it's revealed. It's revealed that one of its features nearly killed Bruce the last time he tested the suit, and it's the boot thrusters he activates at the end on Claw Island. *The construction of Claw Island is shown. *The novel includes the deleted scene of Two-Face's escape from Arkham Asylum and reveals the blood he used to write the message 'THE BAT MUST DIE!' comes from the guard who helped him escape. After which, the scene at Wayne Enterprises of Bruce and Nygma meeting occurs. The Batsignal seen in this scene alerts Bruce to the situation at the Second Bank of Gotham involving Two-Face. *In the novel, the Batsignal Bruce sees from Wayne Manor when he's speaking to Alfred after the events at the circus is the one sent up by Chase. In the film, when Chase mentions noticing Two-Face's coin at the bank the night before, which is impossible as she never saw Two-Face or his coin. In the novel, this exchange between the two occurs the night after the circus, making more sense as she actually sees Two-Face and sees him use his coin. After Batman leaves, Commissioner Gordon reprimands Chase for her stunt with the Batsignal. This leads to the chase scene with Batman, Two-Face, and his thugs, ending with Batman escaping by driving the Batmobile up a mural building. The following scene is of Two-Face in his lair. *As Batman is being buried alive in the abandoned subway, he wonders if he has been seeking death through his fighting against crime in order to be reunited with his parents. *Bruce calls Chase and when she asks "Who is this?", he prepares to answer but hangs up. Then he says "Who am I, Alfred? I don't think I know anyone." *As Gordon interrogates one of Two-Face's apprehended thugs, named Taylor, Harvey Bullock has a minor appearance in the scene as he offers to do the interrogation. Taylor tells Gordon he'd like to cooperate but the Riddler and Two-Face said the thugs would be sorry if they squealed. Once Taylor is guaranteed Witness Protection and he promises to reveal the Riddler and Two-Face's location, he starts convulsing . Gordon summons a doctor only to learn Taylor is catatonic. It's learned via the Riddler that unknown to Two-Face's thugs, all of them carry a subcutaneous implant, giving him full access to their thought processes and allowing him to fry their neural pathways at a moment's notice. *After he narrowly survives the encounter with Two-Face at the subway and sees Chase at her apartment, Batman sees the photos of him on her desk replaced with ones of Bruce. After Batman leaves, Chase takes out a tape recorder and reveals she was able to figure out that Bruce is Batman from how he fought Two-Face's thugs at the circus. Then she realizes how manipulative she's been in trying to find what makes Bruce tick by spending time with him, and tosses her tape into the fireplace. Unbeknownst to Chase, Batman sees all of this from another building's roof. *A deleted scene where after the Riddler and Two-Face invade Wayne Manor and take Chase, Bruce suffers amnesia from his gunshot wound, leaving him with no memory of ever being Batman. Alfred suggests that Bruce visit "the cave beneath the Batcave." Bruce finds his father's red journal and discovers that his parents planned to go out the night they were murdered, causing Bruce to realize their deaths wasn't his fault. Then a human-sized bat flies toward Bruce and stops before him. Bruce lifts his arms to mirror the giant bat's wings. Bruce emerges from the cave remembering his identity as Batman. *When Chase is held captive on Claw Island, she is chained to the floor of the Riddler's throne. As he sits on it absorbing neural energy, Chase reveals her knowledge of his true identity and warns Nygma that he's frying his brain. Annoyed that she ruins his good mood, he pulls a hypodermic needle from his jacket and injects Chase with a green liquid that makes her pass out. *During the final confrontation with Two-Face and the Riddler, Chase is unconscious throughout the ordeal, hence her lack of dialogue during the scene. The Riddler asks Batman a final riddle, "What is without taste or sound, all around, but can't be found?" and begins humming the music from "Jeopardy!" Batman gives his answer of "Death," realizing the floor in front of him is a holographic representation of one. *Batman catches Chase when her tube opens before Robin's and sets her on a steel beam. Robin is able to save himself by bracing against the sides of his tube. *Robin sees Two-Face holding his gun on the beam facing Batman with a halogen light strapped to his head, blinding Batman's sensors. When Two-Face flips his coin, Batman throws a Batarang at him instead of a bunch of coins, purely guessing where Harvey's hand is, hoping that Harvey will be left unable to decide without his coin. The Batarang hits the coin but Harvey lunges for it and falls two yards down to a lower girder he clings onto like a bat. Then Robin accuses Two-Face of being unable to decide his own fate without his coin. Two-Face flips his coin, grabs it out of the air, looks at it, says "You owe us, kid," and commits suicide by letting go of the girder, not making a sound as he falls to his death. Batman says Robin showed Two-Face his real face and that the rest was probably his first genuine decision in years. *In the Riddler's control room, Sugar and Spice have a quick conversation before Spice takes out her portable phone to call "a guy with a yacht" before she and Sugar leave through an exit, disappearing from Gotham altogether. *During his last talk with the Riddler, Batman mentions having help and looks at the nearby Robin, holding the unconscious Chase. Then he reaches for Nygma, who turns and starts shrieking at him. *The ending scene plays out similarly to that of the original film. Outside Arkham, Bruce and Chase kiss in the Bentley before the car leaves the asylum and goes down a hill. Then the Batsignal appears and Chase tells Bruce not to work too late. Minutes later, she's alone in the car with Alfred and, staring at the Batsignal, she asks him "Does it ever end, Alfred?" and he replies "No, Miss, not in this lifetime." Crouching on the edge of a gargoyle-lined building high above the city, Batman looks over Gotham. He is joined by Robin and the two swing off across the skyline. Category:Novelizations